(MIM 4) Visual communication

First off, let's talk about visual communication. From the lectures I've attended in college, visual communication is always introduced in most classes and the reason is simply because obviously I'm studying art and design hahaha. Back in the B.C. cave paintings were one of a form of interaction among humans. This can be my evidence that visual communication was first used even before verbal communication. This is because during tribal age, the ear was the dominant sense organ and hearing was more used than any other sense organ. The definition of visual communication is "a transmission of information and ideas using symbols and imagery" (Study.com, n.d.). Then, when cave paintings evolved it became normal to use symbols to communicate. As an example, hieroglyph by the Egyptians and ideogram by the chinese. Evolutions of these symbols slowly crafted what we all call words and semiotics now became a norm in the modern era. As can be seen from the transitions, words now contribute a lot and can ease human communication but visuals are still in use. In fact, it plays a big role alongside words.

Symbols and words are considered visual communications and it helps us humans to interact much faster and decrease misunderstandings. It also allow more productivity for humans. For example, civilisation and industrialisation respectively. As evolvement continues, people discovered that applying visuals into words increases functionality because it eases understanding. According to TechSmith' blog (Allison B. 2018), people only remember 10 percent of what they hear after three days, but if a relevant image is paired with that same information, retention goes up to 65 PERCENT! and almost 50 percent of our brains are involved in visual processing. These are evidences that visuals are crucial to good functionality whether if it's for a design or for a simple word document. 

A few examples of the usages of visual communication includes: Billboard, sign, maps, website user interface, games, videos, social medias, food menu and more! Visual communication play a big part in making things easier to understand and creating good user interface.

References
Allison B. (2018) How To Use Visual Communication and Why It Matters. (June 12) [online] Available at: https://www.techsmith.com/blog/why-visual-communication-matters/ [Accessed 27 June 2018]

Study.com (n.d.) What Is Visual Communication? - Definition, History, Theory & Examples. (n.d.) [online] Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-visual-communication-definition-history-theory-examples.html [Accessed 27 June 2018]